Box Score (XML)  I  Box Score (HTML)  I  Box Score (PDF)

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Northeastern State football team lost 49-7 to No. 1 Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Stadium.
 
The RiverHawks dropped to 0-5 overall and 0-5 in the MIAA. The Bearcats remained unblemished at 5-0 on the season and 5-0 in the league.
 
The defending national champions outgained NSU 409-147. They led 250-128 through the air and 159-19 on the ground. The RiverHawks were only able to muster eight first downs (three by penalty), while the Bearcats finished with 23. Northwest led in time of possession 33:18-26:42, and NSU was just 1-for-15 on third downs. Northeastern State finished the game with six 3-and-outs and five turnovers (2 downs, 2 fumble, 1 interception) on 15 possessions.
 
Sophomore quarterback Kevin Pantastico was 9-of-27 passing for 83 yards. He did not throw an interception for the first time this season, but he also did not throw a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Garrett Powell registered 34 yards on three receptions, and junior running back Joel Rockmore had 14 yards on 11 carries. Powell also punted nine times for 363 yards (40.3 average).
 
Sophomore linebacker Lane Dortch finished with a career-high 20 tackles (4 solo, 16 assisted).
 
NWMSU quarterback Brady Bolles was 19-of-35 for 246 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. Korey Jackson had four catches for 48 yards and a score. Robert Burton had a team-high 55 yards rushing and a TD on 14 carries.
 
NSU forced the Bearcats to punt on their opening two possessions, but a 7-play, 50-yard drive midway through the opening quarter put the home team on top 7-0. Burton finished the drive with a seven-yard rush.
 
Bolles threw his first of four TD's early in the second quarter to put his squad up 14-0, but that's all the Bearcats would muster in the game's first 30 minutes.
 
NSU got on the board at the 6:18 mark of the second quarter, when a Prince McJunkins pass on a fake punt found Peter Udoumoh streaking for a 45-yard score.
 
Northwest Missouri State overwhelmed Northeastern State in the third and fourth quarters. The Bearcats exploded for 35 second-half points to squash any hopes of an upset.
 
Northeastern State will now return home for a 1 p.m. contest Oct. 11 against Nebraska-Kearney at Doc Wadley Stadium. The RiverHawks and Lopers (0-5) are the only two winless teams remaining in the MIAA.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

Qtr.	Time	Team	Play	Score
1	5:00	NWMSU	Robert Burton 7 run (Simon Mathiesen kick)	7-0
2	9:36	NWMSU	Brady Bolles 3 pass to George Sehl (Mathieson kick)	14-0
	6:18	NSU	Prince McJunkins 45 pass to Peter Udoumoh (Blake Williams kick)	14-7
3	9:10	NWMSU	Bolles 5 pass to Korey Jackson (Mathiesen kick)	21-7
	6:11	NWMSU	Bolles 35 pass to Burton (Ben Trewyn kick)	28-7
	3:38	NWMSU	Bolles 58 pass to Alex Visk (Mathiesen kick)	35-7
4	9:44	NWMSU	Phil Jackson 2 run (Trewyn kick)	42-7
	2:50	NWMSU	Cameron Wilcox 2 run (Mathiesen kick)	49-7

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB ROBINSON
Opening statement…
"The tale of the tape really came down to an established program against a young program. Northwest Missouri is a program with some kids that know how to play football, and we're just trying to learn and get better. We just had some mistakes. Our defense played pretty well overall, we just had a few miscues here and there. And then offensively, they just had bigger, faster, stronger athletes."
 
On Northwest Missouri's defensive line…
"When you can only rush four and get to the quarterback, you're winning in every phase of the game because you can do so much stuff with that. Credit goes to those guys. They train and they know how to play. That just shows you what we've got to do in the offseason to compete in this league. We have to get after it in the weight room and learn how to play at that elite level."
 
On the defensive effort…
"The defense did a great job. When the offense is putting them out there so much, you're just going to wear down. We only traveled 21 defensive players and after you go three-and-out over and over, you're going to get tired. That's basically what you saw happen."
 
On getting ready for Nebraska-Kearney next week…
"They've just got to realize that if we play like we did in the first half, then we'll have a chance against anybody. We'll get back to the drawing board on Sunday, try to get healthy and get going. We're excited about playing in front of our home crowd. They did such a great job last week. We'll need everybody back out next Saturday to try to help us get our first win."
 
GAME NOTES

• Northwest Missouri leads the all-time series 5-0.
• James Renfrow made his team-leading 25th career start.
• Anthony Williams blocked a punt in the first quarter. This blocked punt was the first against Northwest Missouri since Oct. 3, 2010.
• Peter Udoumoh had a 45-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter on a fake punt. It was his first career touchdown. The pass came from Prince McJunkins, which marked his first-career passing touchdown. He did previously throw a pass to convert a two-point conversion on Nov. 16, 2013.
• The 45-yard touchdown pass was the longest pass play for a touchdown of the season and tied for the longest pass play of 2014.
• The RiverHawks touchdown was the first points on the road this season. The touchdown was also the first points scored by NSU in the second quarter this year.
• Chandler Barr blocked a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. This was the first field goal blocked by NSU since Oct. 27, 2012.
• The last time Northeastern State had two blocks in a single game was Oct. 15, 2011 (Harding).
• Northeastern State finished with 19 rushing yards. That was the most rushing yards allowed by Northwest Missouri in three games (1 to Central Missouri, -14 to Central Oklahoma).
• This is the first time NSU has had at least three games with less than 50 rushing yards in a season since 2008 (5 occurrences).
• NSU has still yet to attempt a field goal this season through five games.
• Northwest Missouri only recorded one sack against the RiverHawks, which is the fewest by the Bearcats in 2014.
• Lane Dortch had a career high and team-leading 20 tackles (4 solo, 16 assist), including four tackles for loss (1 solo, 3 assist). This was the most tackles for a RiverHawk since Langston Jones had 21 tackles against Missouri Southern on Sept. 14, 2013.
• The RiverHawks were 1-for-13 on third downs. This was the third time this season that Northeastern State has had two or fewer third-down conversions.
• NSU trailed 14-7 at halftime. The aggregate halftime score between these two teams over the last two years was 71-12.
• Since 2003, Northeastern State has faced 28 ranked teams. They are 0-28 in those matchups.

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-